Irish Tea

Ireland is one of the world’s largest per capita tea consumers. The Irish like their tea strong and enjoy what we call Irish Breakfast Tea—a robust blend of black teas—all day long, typically served with lots of milk. Serves 4.

Marijuana lollipops for sale on Lakers parade route

In addition to the sales of Lakers paraphernalia and water, some surprising entrepreneurs took to the parade route to sell their wares.

Among them was a mobile truck, Weed World Candies.com, selling marijuana lollipops in hues of orange and blue. (The truck itself is green with a photo mural of young women in bikinis sorting marijuana leaves.)

The assortment included brands of marijuana such as OG Kush and Grand Daddy Perp. The truck’s owner, Bilal Muhammad, said he was recently forced to shut down his store in West Hollywood and had taken his business on the road.

Customers approaching his truck were asked if they had a prescription card allowing them to purchase marijuana and then were handed a free lollipop.

“It’s been working out very well,” he said of business before driving away as police became visible in the distance.

​The District of Columbia passed its first milestone in selecting who gets the much-coveted licenses for the city’s medical marijuana program, even as the federal government is taking a second look at its hands-off approach to those who legally grow and sell cannabis under laws allowing its medicinal use.

More than 80 individuals or businesses applied to cultivate or sell medical marijuana through letters of intent submitted to the Department of Health, reports Tom Howell Jr. at The Washington Times. The applicants range from entrepreneurial lawyers and gardeners in D.C., to medical marijuana professionals based in states like Colorado and Montana.

The city is expected to soon kick off its long-awaited program — put on hold by Congress 11 years ago — in earnest, joining 16 states in legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana for qualified patients.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has approved final regulations for medical marijuana in the District of Columbia.

​

Democratic Mayor Vincent S. Gray and other D.C. officials were particularly worried about federal interference in their medical marijuana plans, because the District’s laws are subject to Congressional approval and marijuana is still illegal for any purpose under federal law.

A 2009 memo, issued by U.S. Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, reminded federal prosecutors that “no state can authorize violations of federal law” while at the same time advising U.S. Attorneys not to target patients and caregivers acting in compliance “with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”

Federal prosecutors for the first two years of the Obama Administration mostly looked the other way in states that had legalized medical marijuana, but a letter from the Department of Justice to U.S. Attorneys across the country last week seemed to signal that law enforcement still plans to go after those who cultivate or sell cannabis, according to a D.C. government source.

The U.S. Attorney for D.C. has not issued any such threatening letters so far, and is “studying the issue to see what input we can provide on the subject,” said Bill Miller, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Ron Machen.

A Congressional rider known as the Barr Amendment had banned D.C. from implementing a medical marijuana program since 1998, when an overwhelming 69 percent of District voters approved legalizing medicinal cannabis there.

The Barr Amendment was finally lifted in 2009, clearing the way for medical marijuana in D.C.

The mayor issued rules in April requiring persons who want to cultivate or sell medical marijuana in the District to send notification by June 17 to the Health Regulation and Licensing Administration, a branch of the city’s health department, ahead of a more formal application.

A host of applicants is vying for the permits for 10 cultivation centers and five dispensaries.

A Freedom Of Information Act request response showed 82 separate applicants for the program, many of them asking for permits to both grow and sell marijuana.

A majority of them — 47 — listed mailing addresses in D.C. in their letters to the health department. Other applicants were from Maryland (18), Virginia (7), New York (3), New Jersey (2), and one each from California, Colorado and Montana.

A few of the out-of-state applicants boasted experience in medical marijuana in states where it is already legal. The health department could not be reached for comment on whether experienced growers and sellers from medical marijuana states would gain preference over applicants originating in D.C.

A panel of five members — one each from the Department of Health, Metropolitan Police Department, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and a consumer or patient advocate — will score each of the eventual applications based on a 250-point scale examining criteria such as security and staffing at facilities, overall business plans and the opinions of local Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.

Beyond community approval, marijuana cultivation centers will be tightly regulated on size, a strict 95-plant limit, staffing, lighting and buffer zones between growing centers and schools.

Applicants must be at least 21 years old and may not have been convicted of any felonies or misdemeanor drug crimes.

Amendment Act B18-622was approved in a unanimous vote by the Council of the District of Columbia on May 4,2010; the act, which went into effect on July 27, 2010, removed state-level criminal penalties on the use and possession of medical marijuana by qualifying patients. Eligible patients are required to register with the medical marijuana program to obtain a medical marijuana card. The DC law prohibits home cultivation of cannabis and patients are required to obtain their supplies from DC-monitored dispensaries.

However, there has to date been little progress in the establishment of a medical marijuana program in the District of Columbia and it is unlikely that medical marijuana will be available to eligible patients before 2012. We will, of course, keep you updated.

In the meantime, we summarise the important points below.

Washington DC Medical Marijuana – Eligible medical conditions

HIV/AIDS

Glaucoma

Multiple Sclerosis

Cancer

Chronic renal failure

Any other condition, as determined by rulemaking, that is:

Chronic or long-lasting

Debilitating

Interferes with basic functions of life

Is a serious medical condition for which the use of medical marijuana is beneficial

Cannot be effectively treated by any ordinary medical or surgical measure

For which there is scientific evidence that the use of medical marijuana is likely to be significantly less addictive than the ordinary medical treatment for that condition

You may also qualify as a medical marijuana patient if you undergo any of the following treatments:

Chemotherapy

The use of azidothymidine or protease inhibitors

Radiotherapy

Any other treatment, as determined by rulemaking, whose side effects require treatment through the administration of medical marijuana in the same manner as a qualifying medical condition

Washington DC Medical Marijuana – How to Become a Medical Marijuana Patient (Eventually)

When the program is finally up and running and you have obtained your card you will be required to purchase your cannabis from a District of Columbia registered dispensary. You will be allowed to possess up to two ounces of dried medical grade marijuana.

On Wednesday, the LA Times reported that a California Senate Committee approved a proposed restriction that if passed would ban all medical marijuana collectives in the state from operating within 600 feet of a residential area (SB 847). The bill is not law yet, but could become law soon. “If you are considering opening a medical marijuana collective, you should consider this bill and try to position yourself at least 600 feet from a residence, if possible,” said medical marijuana lawyer Damian Nassiri. “If you are a collective that is within 600 feet of a residence now, there are still legal arguments that can be made on your behalf, which could result in you being able to stay, although there is no guarantee of this. We will have to wait and see if this law does pass and whether the law applies retroactively.”

Today is the one year anniversary of the death of legendary cannabis activist, Jack Herer. Here’s some information about him so you can get acquainted. Also, he has his own Jack Herer strain that you might be familiar with (we think it’s awesome!). Alright, well here you go, from wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Herer).

A former GoldwaterRepublican, Herer was a pro-cannabis (marijuana) and hemp activist. He wrote two books, the aforementioned The Emperor Wears No Clothes and Grass. There has also been a documentary made about his life called, The Emperor of Hemp. He believed that the cannabis plant should be decriminalized because it has been shown to be a renewable source of fuel, food, and medicine that can be grown in virtually any part of the world. He further asserts that the U.S. government deliberately hides the proof of this.

On September 12, 2009 Herer suffered another heart attack while backstage at the Hempstalk Festival in Portland, Oregon.[5] He spent nearly a month in critical condition in a Portland hospital, including several days in a medically induced coma. He was discharged to another facility on October 13, 2009. Paul Stanford of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation said “He is waking up and gazing appropriately when someone is talking… but he is not really communicating in any way.”[6] He died aged 70 on April 15, 2010 in Eugene, Oregon, from complications related to the September 2009 heart attack.[7][8] Herer was buried at the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, California.

Criticism

European experts on hemp, like Dr. Hayo M.G. van der Werf author of the doctoral thesis Crop physiology of fibre hemp (1994) and Dr. Ivan Bûcsa have criticized Herer for making unrealistic claims regarding the potential of hemp, for example:

– Herer claimed that hemp produces higher yields than other crops. Van der Werf argue that is simply wrong. Under most favorable growing conditions, other crops such as maize, sugar beet or potato produced similar dry matter yields. Fiber hemp is in no way exceptional.[9]

– Herer claimed that hemp hurds, which make up 60 to 80 % of the stem dry weight, contain 77 % cellulose. Van der Werf argue that is wrong. Cellulose content of hemp hurds has been found to vary between 32 and 38 % (Bedetti and Ciaralli 1976, van der Werf 1994). Possibly, Herer confused the hurds, which form the woody core of the hemp stem, with the bark, which forms the outer layer of the hemp stem. The bark contains the long bast fibers which are used in textile manufacturing. [9]

– Herer claimed that hemp could be grown on 6 million hectares in the European Union. Dr. Ivan Bûcsa argue that it was a great exaggeration to calculate that since it is not worth transporting unprocessed hemp more than 40-50 km even in bales. [10] The total reported area in the world cultivated with hemp fiber and hemp seed has only been a fraction of Herers claim: 0.3 million hectares in 1965, 0.076 million hectares in 2004.[11]”